Sibelius Violin Concerto

City Halls, Glasgow, 23/5/24

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ryan Wigglesworth (conductor), Bomsori Kim (violin)

The final “Escape” of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s 2023-24 season was “into Spellbinding Beauty”, a reference to Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, an epic exploration of the landscape and architecture of the soul.  Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth returned to Glasgow’s City Halls to guide us through this masterpiece.  Just one work opened the concert, another great Late Romantic masterpiece with a magical opening on hushed strings introducing a great melody, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, with South Korean virtuosa Bomsori Kim as soloist.  Attendance looked worryingly sparse until about 7:25, when it rapidly filled out to be quite respectable.  Not requiring the choir balcony like last week, but still evincing the ‘Glasgow buzz’.

Sibelius’ Violin Concerto lends itself to a wide range of interpretative approaches.  Last October, Ray Chen with the RSNO gave us a reading that was not without romanticism but accentuated a direct gritty masculinity.  From the outset, Bomsori, petite and clad in an elegant pink gown, accentuated the romantic elements, bringing forth glorious tone from her Guarneri del Gesù, which filled the auditorium, even when the orchestral dynamic was assertive.  As ever with the BBCSSO, and especially under Ryan Wigglesworth, dialogue with the instruments of the orchestra was sensitively shaped, including a lovely moment with principal viola, Scott Dickinson. The cadenza, which Sibelius places unusually at the start of the development, was broodingly expressive, with unerringly flawless intonation. The slow movement was achingly beautiful, with lovely sul-G playing at the start and stunningly expressive vibrato. The anxious minor key central section, with its chromatic shifting double-stopped harmonies, was unforgettably laden with pathos and probably the most moving rendition I’ve heard.  The teasing phrasing and rubato of the closing bars of the movement were equally exquisite.  The dancing rhythm of the finale’s opening promised a joyous romp with a sense of playful abandon, which was then delivered.  The second theme reminded me of why I love the horns of the BBCSSO, with lovely muted effects.  Bomsori’s playing was sprightly and agile, with a great sense of freedom.  The orchestral climax was thoroughly thrilling, as was the coda.  Glasgow’s applause for a top-flight performance was as enthusiastic as ever and was rewarded with a charming encore: Grażyna Bacewicz’s ‘Polish Caprice’.

The visionary opening of the Bruckner elicited goosebumps and scalp tingles from this reviewer. The second theme’s aching search for a way forward built to the first climax and the nervous dancelike third theme. The struggle between doubt and affirmation played out through Bruckner’s richest development, with fabulous playing from the orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth’s surefooted guidance and vision never losing sight of the integrity and architecture of the whole. The final big climax built to a blistering tutti before subsiding, the coda richly affirmative with the Wagner tubas coming into their own. These odd instruments also feature prominently in the surpassingly beautiful Adagio.  A horn player can use a hand in the bell of the instrument to partially cure problems with the instrument ‘speaking’ unreliably, but the Wagner tuba’s bell faces upwards, so the player (often a moonlighting hornist) cannot apply this remedy, potentially at the mercy of random transients at the start of a phrase, especially when playing softly. This seemed to be an unfortunate issue in the wistfully nostalgic, occasionally idyllic and elegiac slow movement, which was otherwise pretty well perfect. The climaxes were absolutely breathtaking. The demonic Scherzo, with its fusion of Ländler and hunting calls, is always a guilty pleasure, and it got a spirited outing, the contrastingly lyrical Trio a delicious contrast.  The cheerfully jaunty first theme of the finale and the more dignified yet self-assured second theme, a string chorale with walking bass pizzicato, set a mood of positivity that cannot be derailed, not even by some curmudgeonly mocking of the dotted rhythm by the brass in the middle of the movement (the players looked like they were having a ball). It isn’t always a ‘struggle’ with Bruckner, after all. The final peroration was glorious and life-affirming, concluding a fine performance of what is many people’s favourite Bruckner symphony.  A great end to the BBCSSO season.